Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Plantrepreneurship, or entrepreneurship in the plant space, feels like it’s at an all-time high these days. With the massive shifts our society has gone through, people are feeling more drawn to plants and so many businesses are popping up designed to serve our plant community, and many members of our community are looking to transition into the world of plants professionally! I’ve noticed more an...

This special mini episode of the podcast is just a little one on one with you and me: where I’m going to peel back the curtain and give you the inside scoop on why I created the Garden Society and how you, my community of listeners, where my muse. We will also dive into all the delicious goodies that are part of it’s membership and later on in the episode, I invite the Garden Society’s Horticultur...

Whether you've been around the block of plant parenthood a few times or you're just beginning your journey, you’ve likely seen some version of what I like to call "planty fake news" or plant care myths: allegedly fool-proof hacks that seem too good to be true, old wives' tales that have been translated one too many times, or plant care claims that just seem super confusing. When I started my journ...

I'm so excited to geek out on my favorite planty products with you, plant friends! The holiday season is just around the corner, and what perfect way to show your appreciation and love for the plant parents in your life (or for yourself) than to give them great planty gifts? The holiday season is also a great way to maybe invite our non-planty friends to try growing! I've got an amazing list of pl...

I admit it, plant friends; I was totally unaware of a total subsect of the plant community: the planted aquarium world. There is a whole corner of the plant world dedicated to elevating our common fishtanks to living, growing underwater worlds that look like art. Aquatic gardeners are using aquatic plants to aquascape insanely beautiful aquariums. It is biophilia in the highest sense because you h...

Plant friends, I've been sharing with you my overwhelm, burnout, and general processing of everything that's happening in our world right now. It’s been so nice to connect with so many of you who share similar feelings. I'm also grateful to have had my plant collection to turn to and use as a tool for wellness in these trying times. Several of you had recommended  Lessons from Plants  by Beronda M...

2020 had us all looking at our homes and asking ourselves if our current lifestyles were truly working for us or if it was time for a change. Billy and I desired more space, more nature, and a new opportunity to grow, which is why we moved upstate. An interesting question rose up when we moved and stared at our new surroundings and new gardening zone with a bit of overwhelm:  now what?  I've heard...

Honestly, I've been feeling so overwhelmed and uninterested in curating my thoughts and feelings about plants and plant parenthood. It’s been a hell of a year and although I’m all about keeping it positive, I’m also all about keeping it real. And lately, social media has made it hard to share authentically. That's why when Christy, a Garden Party founding member, started this plant parent confessi...

Not only is growing your own food a fabulous hobby and a way to reconnect with the food chain, the earth, and yourself, it’s also a way to serve our bodies in a deeper way by feeding them with fresh, organic produce. Not to mention, a freshly picked cherry tomato or piece of lettuce tastes infinitely more delicious than a store-bought one. I’ve really enjoyed diving deep into gardening through the...

Plant Routines : the crucial part of every plant parent's plant care practice that ensures that our plants (and our minds) are happy and healthy. Going from plant killer to plant lady, I found that I became as attached to my plant care routine, as I was to my plants. The act of disconnecting with a screen to reconnect with these plants and nature, is also a way to clear space to reconnect with you...

The first time I heard about wet stick propagation, I had no idea it even existed! That's why when I got an offer from a listener, Joey (@joey_de_la_plants), for a variegated Monstera 'Albo' wetstick (and I knew I wanted that plant but I had no idea what “wetstick” meant), I went down a research rabbit hole to know more about the process of rooting it. For the last 5 months, my node has not only r...

When I first got into gardening, I got very fixated on the food I could grow for myself, but what I’m realizing is growing flowers can be as appealing as growing food — and flowers, being the pollinator magnets they are, are crucial to a healthy garden and a healthy mind. I’ve been so curious about cut flower gardening and connected with this episode's guest on Clubhouse, and started picking her b...

#plantsmakepeoplehappy, this hashtag has almost 8 million posts so far and there’s a reason for it. It’s just true. Plants, nature, and the act of witnessing life itself make people happy, more connected, and more empowered. The plant/person connection is hard to explain, yet everyone knows it. We all feel this connection to our plant collection. Our hearts swell with new growth, and sometimes eve...

In this mini episode, I share the why behind the creation of the Garden Party Community Platform & App and give you all the details of what’s inside! Become a Founding Plant Friend of the Garden Party (Offer expires July 1st- you can get a whole years membership for the amount of one 8 inch plant!) https://community.bloomandgrowradio.com/ Check our a tour on the Youtube Channel! Hosted by Simpleca...

This isn't a story about gardening, plant friends. This is an episode on plant friendship. Melody is a local gardener who lives 15 minutes from me and has one of the most unbelievable gardens I’ve ever seen! Her backyard is a whimsical garden oasis, with a gazebo, greenhouse, and a different flower or bloom everywhere you look. In this episode, I share the story of how I met Melody and Melody give...

When I look at a large gorgeous palm, outside or indoors, I immediately get tropical vibes from their huge leaves, the way they sway in the wind, and the way the leaves cascade over their delicate stems. They just have a certain something that creates an instant jungle vibe. However, palms are also notoriously tricky plants to successfully care for! Lucky for us, Chris of NYC Plant Doctor comes to...

Plant friends, I’ve been fortunate enough to take a lot of deeper dives in the science of plant care since quarantine happened and my outlook on plant care and the hobby of keeping plants has dramatically shifted in the last year and a half. I find myself turning away from blogs and towards textbooks and have a new deep appreciation for the horticulturalists on this show who can truly dive deeper...

When I polled our listener community about your top requests for outdoor garden-related episodes, the number one request surprised me: it wasn’t managing fertilizer, succession planting, or garden design. It was how to manage pesky animals getting into your gardens! Today, I have the answer to your prayers: Brie from briegrows.com walks us through such a comprehensive list of practices and solutio...

Did you know that some of our favorite houseplants are actually toxic to pets? I was able to interview Anastasia from Leaf & Paw about Pets and Plants and how to be both a pet parent and a plant parent. Anastasia has a blog dedicated to her passion for collecting plants while caring for her two cats and a hedgehog. In this episode, she walks us through what we need to know about toxicity, how to s...

New Trend Alert! Tiny Plants are the curious collector's dream, and an awesome option for plant parents who are working with limited space OR are obsessed with teensy tiny adorable things like me. Leslie Halleck, one of the favorite recurring guests for Bloom and Grow Radio, joins us again to talk about her obsession with Tiny Plants, tips for caring for them, and a matchmaking session where she p...

I think we all know that there are a lot of lessons to be learned in the garden and that's twofold: literally how to garden and how to grow food, reconnect with our food chain, and deepen our relationship with nature. I am so excited to deepen my gardening knowledge this summer with My First Garden Series, where I troubleshoot and try my first shot at outdoor gardening outside of the tiny balcony...

Do any of you remember that store in the mall that sold mini bonsai trees and meditative water features? I was pretty obsessed with them as a kid and was so taken with these tiny trees, all the miniaturization of these beautiful, serene scenes. I definitely had and killed several of those trees in my teenage years, and I’m put at ease to hear I’m not the only one after speaking to many of you on I...

I’ve always known that Hardiness Zones and Frost Dates are important to planning your outdoor garden… but plant friend, I’ve never quite understood what they were or why they were so important. I’ve gotten as far as typing my zip code into the hardiness zone website, getting my “number” and then pretty much not doing anything with it. As I look to plan my first grown up garden this summer, I knew...

Of all the plants I’m feeling drawn to these days, Alocasia are at the top of my list. I feel like their weird, semi heart shaped, semi ovular shaped leaves look like little alien heads looking at me, popping out from my collection to say hello. They are oddly friendly but also strange looking plants that I’m obsessed with. There are so many reasons to love Alocasia, from the unique leaf shape, to...

So we’ve all been in a garden center and picked up a plant, or had a friend give us a cutting and look at the plant in our hands and think “ummm what is this thing?” Today’s episode is all about learning some basic skills for identifying houseplants and how to observe our plants in order to get to know them better. We are joined by Derek of The Crazy Botanist for a higher level conversation about...